FALL RIVER — Don and Cathy Snyder feel betrayed and want justice for his late uncle, Dr. Irving R. Snyder, whose life savings were stolen, allegedly by the doctor's health aide.

"We think it's terrible for a lot of reasons," Cathy Snyder said in an interview at Superior Court Friday. "She was a trusted friend of my uncle and she violated that trust terribly. She should have been a family friend and family hero instead of being vilified."

Gloria Balestracci, 66, of Dartmouth, is charged with stealing about $1.2 million from the late Dr. Snyder, a New Bedford podiatrist, between 2004 and 2009.

Balestracci worked as Snyder's office manager for 13 years and then, when he retired, she became his home health aide. Snyder was 90 at the time of his death in 2009.

Balestracci is charged with larceny of more than $250 from a person over 60, four counts of uttering (cashing a forged check), two counts of making and subscribing false tax returns and two counts of aiding and assisting in making false statements on income tax returns.

Her case was continued Friday until Jan. 24 for a status review in Fall River Superior Court, according to a spokeswoman for Attorney General Martha Coakley's office.

Don Snyder, 60, a New Bedford native, is semi-retired and runs a small sign company in Louisville, Ky. Friday's court appearance marked the second time he and his wife had traveled to Massachusetts to follow the case.

The couple said they sensed from the first time they met Balestracci, the day after Snyder's death, that something was wrong.

They said the first thing Balestracci told them was "it's all gone," and they misinterpreted that to mean that Snyder was dead. However, she corrected them, saying she meant the money was gone.

Balestracci told them Snyder had paid for the experimental treatment of her pancreatic cancer and she was "miraculously cured," they said. "We didn't believe any of it," Don Snyder said.

When they asked Balestracci for some of her medical bills for tax purposes, she admitted she had lied about the treatments.

According to a civil lawsuit filed by Don Snyder and his sister, Janice Michalski, of New Berlin, Wis., Balestracci told them she has a spending and gambling problem.

Her attorney, Joseph Harrington Jr., of New Bedford, declined to comment about the case Friday.

Don Snyder said he would call his uncle regularly but didn't get involved in his finances because he felt he would be meddling. Now he realizes he was wrong and wishes he had. "People need to get involved," he said.

The Snyders said they want the court to order full restitution, sentence Balestracci to jail time and prevent her from ever being in a position to steal from anyone again.

"We want a message sent that if you steal everything from the elderly, everything you own will be taken from you," she said.